The Penguin is a character that has been a major thorn in Batman’s side since he first appeared in Detective Comics #58, which was published in December of 1941. In that time, he has had some great moments and iconic stories.

Although, none of them really hit the nail on the head as well as this story does, at least in regards to who the Penguin is, underneath his sinister personality.

This examines the psychology and the origin of the character. It is dark but it is a necessary read for fans of the character that want something more intimate.

In fact, after reading this, it’s obvious that they borrowed some bits when developing the character of the Penguin for the television show Gotham. Specifically, the parts about his relationship with his mother. Granted, they replaced his abusive father with the kindhearted one, played by Paul Reubens, in the show.

Pain and Prejudice is well written and the art is superb. While Batman appears in the story, it is nice to see the Penguin as the main character. It follows his past family issues, mixes them with a current love story and weaves it all into a tale where he loses his shit and decides to attack the children of Gotham City. This, of course, brings Batman into the story in an attempt to foil the Penguin’s insane plot.

This trade paperback also includes a bonus, a one issue comic where the Joker tells his version of a Penguin origin story. The Joker tale is just a small part of this book and it isn’t a fleshed out origin like the Pain and Prejudice tale but ultimately, this collection is a real tribute to the Penguin character and just how human the inhuman villain is.

I read good things about the main story before buying this. The praise for it was justified, as this is one of the best Penguin stories I’ve ever come across in my long history of reading Batman comics.

Rating: 8.25/10Pairs well with: The upcoming Batman – Arkham edition on the Penguin.